Remote control device that uses color to indicate change in status

ABSTRACT

A remote control device includes a memory having a library of commands for commanding functional operations of an appliance and a user interface having activatable keys for causing a transmission of one or more commands to thereby command functional operations of the appliance. An illumination device is provided which causes an appearance of the remote control device to change as a function of at least one of a timing operation and temperature related functional operation of the appliance.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/061,732, filed on Jun. 16, 2008, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

SUMMARY

The following relates to remote controls for use in remotely controllingfunctional operations of home appliances including gas and electriccooking appliances such as ranges, cooktops, wall ovens, microwaves;laundry appliances such as washers and dryers; home environmentappliances such as vacuum cleaners, humidifiers, air purifiers, airconditioners, water heaters; and small kitchen appliances such asblenders, food processors, slow cookers, and outdoor cooking such asgrills. The remote control may also include advanced functionality foroperation of home appliances including lighting systems, securitysystems, thermostats, intercoms, and audio/video devices such asprovided by PCs, home servers, TVs, DVD players, etc. The remote controlmay additionally include wireless access to such appliances, e.g., toprovide two-way communications with such appliances, as well as theinternet including websites and service sites for remote diagnostics andremote repair of such appliances. The internal components of the remotecontrol may include the components shown in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos.7,143,214 and 7,102,688 which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety, with the added feature that the subject remote controlprovides an illumination device which causes an appearance of the remotecontrol to change as a function of at least one of a timing operationand a temperature related functional operation of an appliance that iscontrollable through use of the remote control.

A better understanding of the objects, advantages, features, propertiesand relationships of the subject remote control will be obtained fromthe following detailed description and accompanying drawings which setforth illustrative embodiments and which are indicative of the variousways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the subject remote control reference maybe had to the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of an exemplary dedicated remote controlincorporating an illumination device for causing an appearance of theremote control to change as a function of at least one of a timingoperation and a temperature related functional operation of an appliancethat is controllable through use of the remote control;

FIGS. 2 a and 2 b illustrate a top view of an exemplary universal remotecontrol incorporating an illumination device for causing an appearanceof the remote control to change as a function of at least one of atiming operation and a temperature related functional operation of anappliance that is controllable through use of the remote control;

FIG. 3 illustrates an illumination device being used to cause theappearance of a remote control to change as a function of a timingoperation;

FIGS. 4 a and 4 b illustrate top views of further exemplary embodimentsof the remote controls of FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively;

FIGS. 5 a and 5 b illustrate side views of the remote control of FIG. 4a or FIG. 4 b docked in a recharging station and placed upon a table,respectively;

FIG. 6 illustrates a top view of a still further exemplary embodiment ofthe remote control of FIG. 2; and

FIGS. 7 a and 7 b illustrate side views of the remote control of FIG. 6docked in a recharging station and placed upon a table, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to the figures, a remote control 10 is provided whichincorporates an illumination device, such as one or more lamps, LEDs, orthe like, which illumination device is operable to change the appearanceof the remote control. The appearance of the remote control may bechanged by causing the illumination device to change colors in which theremote control, or portions thereof, are illuminated, by causing theillumination device to change the intensity or brightness in which theremote control, or portions thereof, are illuminated, or the like. Inparticular, the appearance of the remote control device is changedthrough use of the illumination device to reflect the status of a timingoperation and/or the status of an appliance temperature relatedoperation, e.g., an oven heating to a set temperature.

The remote control is constructed so as to have the ability to operate,monitor, and multi-task from anywhere in the home environment. To thisend, the remote control includes, as described for example in U.S. Pat.No. 7,143,214, operating circuitry powered directly by a battery and/orindirectly from another electrical source (e.g., by way of the batteryrecharging contacts which mate with a battery recharging contacts of abase station as shown in FIGS. 5 a and 7 a). As is conventional, theoperating circuitry preferably includes a memory (storing instructionsand a library of appliance command codes), a processor 101 (forexecuting the instructions and controlling components, for measuringtime intervals, etc.), a user interface (such as a liquid crystaldisplay with a touch panel overlay, keys, and/or the like), an infrared(and/or RF) transmitter circuit, an infrared (and/or RF) receivercircuit 160, and a speaker or buzzer 102. In addition, the operatingcircuitry includes the illumination device which, under control of theprocessor, is functional to illuminate all or part of the remote controlto reflect the status of a timing operation (as measured locally by theremote control) and/or the status of an appliance temperature relatedoperation (as reported to the remote control by the appliance via thetwo-way communication link or as timed by the remote control).

As illustrated in the figures, the base 12 (or other part(s)) of theremote control 10 may be constructed from a translucent or transparentmaterial and thus be illuminated, in whole or in part, by theillumination device. The illumination device may also, or in thealternative, function to illuminate, in whole or in part, the userinterface 14 of the remote control 10. Still further, the illuminationdevice may also, or in the alternative, function to illuminate, in wholeor in part, the top 16 of the remote control 10 or any other remotecontrol surface.

In certain embodiments, the remote control 10 is a dedicated remotecontrol and is adapted to remotely control operations of a singleappliance. For example, FIGS. 1 and 4 a illustrate a dedicated remotecontrol having a user interface 14 appropriate for the single device tobe controlled, e.g., a remote control dedicated to controlling stovefunctions such as start, pause, repeat, temperature control, clock,burners, clock timer with countdown/alarm, etc. In certain otherembodiment, the remote control can be used to operate multipleappliances, i.e., function as a universal remote control. For example,FIGS. 2 a, 2 b, and 4 b illustrate a universal remote control having auser interface 14 appropriate for each of multiple devices to becontrolled such as a dryer, washer, oven, broiler, microwave oven, etc.In either case, the user interface 14 of the remote control may includeone or more buttons, a touch screen, dials/knobs/track ball, a display,etc. for receiving user inputting and for presenting status, timedisplay, prompts or alerts, etc. While the remote control 10 may includea speaker for alerts/alarms, more advanced sound capabilities caninclude a more robust speaker system for sound output such as playing ofmp3s or digital music as well as for providing sound input/output toprovide 2-way intercom “walkie-talkie” functionality, voice-activationof operations, and/or VOIP for remote communications such as use forservicing of appliances using remote diagnostics.

As also illustrated, for example in FIGS. 5 b and 7 b, the bottom 12 ofthe remote control 10 may be weighted and/or shaped to maintain the userinterface of the remote control 10 in a viewable position, i.e.,disposed in a non-horizontal position or otherwise angled towards theviewer, when the remote control 10 is placed upon a surface. The remotecontrol 10 may also be provided with a means 20 for allowing the remotecontrol 10 to be easily carried, such as a hole, hook, or the likeformed in the remote control formed in the remote control body tothereby allow the remote control 10 to be carried by a belt or the likeas illustrated in FIG. 6.

As noted, the design of the remote control 10 include the use of lightto show status of timing and/or temperature operations. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 3, the illumination device, which may be multiplecolored LEDs or a multi-colored LED, can cause part or the entirety ofthe remote control 10 to change color to indicate how much time is leftin a timing operation. To this end, the remote control 10 is providedwith an ability to set a time to be measured, for example by means ofbuttons on the user interface 14, by turning an egg-timer like dial 22,or the like. In this manner, as an example, the remote control 10 can beun-illuminated (e.g., black) when not timing and be caused to glow agreen color at the start of a timed operation and conclude with a redcolor when the timed operation is completed while transitioning throughother colors such as yellow. Similarly, by receiving messages from anappliance, the remote control 10 can be un-illuminated (e.g., black)when an appliance is not warming and be caused to glow a green color atthe start of an appliance temperature setting operation and concludewith a red color when the appliance temperature setting operation iscompleted while transitioning through other colors such as yellow.

While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the invention indetail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and alternatives to those details could be developed inlight of the overall teachings of the disclosure. For example, ratherthan change colors to indicate changing status of time or temperatureoperations, the illumination device can be used to illuminate the remotecontrol, or parts thereof, with ever increasing or decreasingintensity/brightness to this same end. Accordingly, the particulararrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and notlimiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the fullbreadth of the appended claims and any equivalents thereof.

1. A remote control device, comprising: a memory having a library of commands for commanding functional operations of an appliance; a user interface having activatable keys for causing a transmission of one or more commands to thereby command functional operations of the appliance; and an illumination device which causes an appearance of the remote control device to change by causing the illumination device to change illumination colors or light intensities, as a function of a temperature related functional operation of the appliance, wherein the remote control device is adapted for two-way communication with the appliance, the appliance providing the remote control temperature related information, and the remote control using the temperature related information to control the illumination device to thereby cause the appearance of the remote control device to change as a function of the temperature related functional operation of the appliance.
 2. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein the two-way communication comprises a wireless RF communication channel.
 3. The remote control device as recited in claim 1, comprising a speaker for outputting an alarm.
 4. A remote control device, comprising: a memory having a library of commands for commanding functional operations of an appliance; a user interface having activatable keys for causing a transmission of one or more commands to thereby command functional operations of the appliance; and an illumination device which causes an appearance of the remote control device to change by causing the illumination device to change illumination colors or light intensities, as a function of a timing operation of the appliance, wherein the remote control device is adapted for two-way communication with the appliance, the appliance providing to the remote control timing operation information and the remote control using the timing operation information to control the illumination device to thereby cause the appearance of the remote control device to change as a function of the timing functional operation of the appliance.
 5. The remote control device as recited in claim 4, comprising a speaker for outputting an alarm. 